NYC Civic Engagement Commission

NYC Civic Engagement Commission's Newsletter and DemocracyNYC

CHANGE OF PARTY AFFILIATION

The deadline to change a voter’s party affiliation is Monday, February 14th, 2022.

Under state election law, only voters registered in a political party are allowed to vote in their party’s primary election. If you’d like to vote in the upcoming June Primary, now is the time to confirm your party affiliation, which you can do at https://www.nycvotersearch.com/. This June, seats at the federal and state level will be up for election, including: U.S. Senate, Congress, Governor, State Assembly, and State Senate.

How to confirm or change your party affiliation?

Search your registration status here: https://www.nycvotersearch.com/ or call: 1-888-868-3692

Mail in a paper voter registration form which you can find here: https://vote.nyc/page/register-vote or if you have a DMV account, you can change it online.

You can also find information and assistance at TurboVote

SPECIAL ELECTIONS FEBRUARY 15

On February 15, there will be two special elections for State Assembly seats (AD 60 in Brooklyn and AD 72 in Manhattan). These seats both became vacant when the incumbent Assembly Members resigned their seats to join the City Council. Early voting will run from February 5-13 and all registered voters in those districts are eligible to vote in the elections. For more information or to request an absentee ballot to vote in a special election, visit NYC BOE. Based on the poll site language assistance methodology procedures amendment , the Civic Engagement Commission will be providing Russian interpretation for AD 60 on Election Day at PS346 from 6AM-9pm.

ABSENTEE VOTING

Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation to allow voting by absentee ballot due to the COVID-19 pandemic through 2022. This legislation continues to allow New Yorkers to request an absentee ballot during the pandemic where there is a risk of contracting or spreading disease that may cause illness to the voter or other members of the public. This legislation first became law in July of 2020, and expired on December 31, 2021.

Absentee ballot applications for the February 15th special elections in the 60th and 72nd assembly districts are open through January 31st by mail, until February 14th in-person and can be submitted by mail or in-person until February 15th. More information on absentee voting and how to apply for an absentee ballot is available here.

CAST YOUR VOTE!

Do you live, go to school, or work in one of these neighborhoods?

All residents of the Taskforce for Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE) neighborhoods are invited to VOTE! Now extended through January 31. Your choices will determine the $40K winning proposal in your neighborhood.

The City of New York is investing $1.3M to support recovery in the 33 neighborhoods hardest hit by COVID-19. Partners in this citywide Neighborhood Coalition initiative are the NYC Taskforce for Racial Inclusion and Equity (TRIE), Civic Engagement Commission and Young Men’s Initiative. If you live in one of these communities, you will get to decide how to spend $40,000 of public funds in your neighborhood. These investments will support your community and contribute to a more fair recovery.

If you do not live in one of the TRIE neighborhoods, we invite you to share with your networks. Access the Outreach and Social Media Kit to share on your social media. The kit includes flyers, postcards, and social media graphics translated in 14 languages.

NEW CITYWIDE INITIATIVE NYC SPEAKS

NYC Speaks is a city-wide engagement initiative designed to ensure that New Yorkers are heard in close coordination with the Mayor Adams administration. Phase 1 of NYC Speaks is a citywide survey (available in 11 different languages). Ensure your voice is heard in phase 1 of the project (the survey deadline is February 11) and help mobilize your community by participating in a Day of Action on February 4th and 11th (see the schedule and ways to plug in below).

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM EST: Post on Social Media and/or join our text banks.

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EST: Learn more about the initiative and join our webinar live.

3:00 PM – 4:30 PM EST: Post on Social Media and/or join our text banks.

After the survey closes we will be convening in-depth conversations hosted by community organizations across the city and featuring an innovative ideas challenge with City staff. All of the data pulled through this initiative will fuel action planning workshops and the detailed proposals that come out of the workshops will feed into the upcoming Strategic Plan for the city. Learn more and stay tuned on future opportunities to get involved at https://nycspeaks.org.

OTHER UPCOMING DATES & EVENTS

Civics Week: March 7-11, 2022

Civics Week is a week-long celebration of youth voices and civic engagement in an effort to build a more active citizenry.

Part of the New York City Department of Education’s Civics for All initiative, Civics Week brings together a coalition of citywide partners including CEC/DemocracyNYC, the Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit (PEU), and civic leaders to help teach students K-12 the skills of civic engagement, the foundations of government and the democratic process, and the importance of registering to vote.

More information about Civics Week and the annual Student Voter Registration Drive to come.

Primary & General Election Dates

The State Board of Elections recently published the political calendar for 2022. More dates and information to come, but the Primary Election this year is on June 28, 2022 (early voting: June 18-26) and the General Election is November 8, 2022 (early voting: October 29-November 6).

REDISTRICTING

As many of you probably know, the Legislature rejected the competing redistricting maps it received from the Independent Redistricting Commission, and the deadline for the Commission to send revised maps has passed. Under the New York State Constitution, this means that the Legislature will have sole responsibility to draw congressional and state legislative maps. The legislative leaders issued a statement this week stating that given the expedited nature of the political calendar, they expect the Senate and Assembly to vote on new maps next week.

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